I have gotten a lot of questions about emotional eating and ways to overcome it.  This article just touches on some of the main issues behind it.  There are references at the end that provide more details and more ways to cope.

What is Emotional Eating?

Emotional eating is eating for reasons other than the true feeling of physical hunger.  Emotional eating is feeding our feelings, not our hunger.  Reasons we may eat can include anxiety, loneliness, boredom, sadness, happiness, celebration, stress, etc… and any other reason you can think of that you eat other than hunger.  We’re basically eating to fill a void.  Emotional hunger can arrive suddenly, while physical hunger builds up and comes on gradually.  When we eat to fill a void we often reach for “comfort” foods.  For some, this may be high starch/carb laden foods.  Emotional hunger often needs to be satisfied instantly. 

The Numbing Effect

When we eat when we’re not hungry (emotional eating), it’s difficult to tell when we’ve had enough.  When we eat when we’re not hungry, we can’t tell when we’re full.  It’s almost like a numbing feeling.  It’s like the endless bag of potato chips.  We eat for emotion and don’t stop until the bag is gone, or, we don’t stop until we feel uncomfortably full.  If we still have a void, we can easily look for more food.  When we eat for true physical hunger we can tell right away when we’re full… so we stop eating. 

Emotional Eating & Weight Gain

When we consistently eat for reasons other than hunger, we will gain weight.  Majority of the time when we eat for emotion, we eat unhealthy food… so this doesn’t help the situation.  If our body is not physically hungry and we eat anyway, our body most likely did not need the calories.  Even worse is when we use food as the main reason to cope with our emotions.  I’ve said this over and over again, weight gain occurs when we CONSISTENTLY eat when we’re not hungry.  Even if we are eating healthy, if we’re over eating we will gain weight.

Coping With Our Emotions

We all have moments when we eat out of emotion… the problems occur when we use food as our main form of coping.  Learning to cope with our emotions without food is vital… especially if we have a weight problem.  This can be very hard… especially if we’ve been eating out of emotion for many years.  I have had clients who haven’t felt true physical hunger in decades.  When we stop eating for emotion, we are forced to face those emotions.  If we’re use to snacking after dinner and we stop, we need to find something else to fill that void.  The really hard part comes when we really want to eat something, but know that we are not physically hungry.  We have to deal with that feeling which at times can be tough.  The good news is the more we learn to deal with it, the easier it will become.  The goal is to consistently associate food with hunger.  The more we get use to this, the easier it is to be around food and have no desire to eat because we’re not hungry.  The ultimate goal is to consistently eat when we’re hungry.  If we have a moment when we eat out of emotion, we just accept it for what it is and move on.  Just take it one meal at a time.

This article covers a very small part of emotional eating.  If you feel you need more guidance, two great references are author Geenen Roth (her books cover emotional eating in detail as well as ways to cope), and the book Intuitive Eating (this book has one chapter on emotional eating, but the entire book is ideal for someone who consistently eats when not hungry).

If you have any questions about this article, want to know more, or have suggestions for future topics, add a comment in the comments section below.  If you know of anyone who may benefit from this article click on the “share this” icon below; from there you can post a link to this article or you can email it to a friend.

By Estela Schnelle MS, RD

www.weeklybite.com

Everyone has his or her own theory about this.  I’ve heard it all… “No carbs after 4pm”, “Food turns into fat after a certain hour”.  All these myths are false!  The truth is, our bodies run on a 24hr clock… not an eight or twelve-hour day.  If you are truly physically hungry, you need to eat! 

Why are these rules made?

In my article “Dieting vs. Calorie Counting” it states, “eating healthy is very important, but how much we eat is even more important”.  This is the main reason why these rules are made.  It’s called MINDLESS EATING.  For most of us, mindless eating happens in the evening, after dinner, watching TV, when we’re bored, etc…  Weight gain generally occurs when we consistently eat for reasons other than hunger (mindless eating).  Think about it… we eat dinner, we’re comfortably full, definitely not hungry anymore, but somehow, we still find a way to squeeze a cup or two of ice cream in there.  Don’t get me wrong, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with dessert, but you have to account for it.  Make it part of your meal.  Not the mindless noshing that can occur after dinner.

Make your own rules!

You should know your body better than anyone!  Make your own rules.  I’ll use myself as an example.  It took some time, but I’m happy that I’ve gotten to know my body pretty well.  I know how much food is too much for me.  I know how much I can eat at dinner and feel content and satisfied.  I know that after each meal (including breakfast) I HAVE to have a small piece of DOVE dark chocolate.  I know that if I snack too much after dinner, I will not be hungry for breakfast.  I know how I will feel the next morning when I over do it at a restaurant the night before.  I make it a general rule for myself not to snack or eat after dinner.  If I am truly physically hungry after dinner, I will have something small to satisfy the hunger, but the lesson that I take away from that is I either didn’t eat enough for dinner, or didn’t eat enough throughout the day.  With my clients, I give them the general rule to stop eating two hours before they go to bed.  That way they can feel hungry for breakfast the next morning. 

Get to know your body!  Try different things out and see what works best for you.  Don’t be afraid to make a mistake… that’s the best way to learn!    Know that following the rules you have made for your body are better than what any book can tell you!

If you have any questions about this article, want to know more, or have suggestions for future topics, add a comment in the comments section below.  If you know of anyone who may benefit from this article click on the “share this” icon below; from there you can post a link to this article or you can email it to a friend.